


What Life Could Be

by Nocturnella



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Best Friends, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Light fantasy violence, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2020-09-24 19:08:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20363596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocturnella/pseuds/Nocturnella
Summary: Dan’s life has not gone as planned.  He’s trapped in a dead-end job with no formal education and no real life outside of losing himself in video games.  Enter disaster in the form of Phil.Meanwhile, the release of the new virtual reality game Half Moon Village gives Dan the escape he’s so desperately been looking for.  In the game Dan can be whoever he wants, and as Cloud he meets the heroic and adorably awkward Fylgon who saves him at every turn and is always quick to share the spoils of his adventures.   The only problem?  Fylgon is in love with someone else.  Oh, and Dan isn't even sure he's a real person.





	1. Natural Disaster

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank-you to firefliesandrefrigerators on Tumblr for beta reading and catching all of my wonky sentences. It really means the world to me to have someone put their time and energy into making this story as good as it can be, and to have someone believe this fic can be great.  
*  
(Oh, and if I missed any trigger warnings in my tags, please let me know so I can add them! We're all here to have a good time.)

“Do you work here?”

Dan rolls his eyes as he pushes dirt around with a broom and bites back a sarcastic remark. He’s wearing a “Family Grocery” apron and cleaning the store. The customer posing the question, a balding man in his late forties dressed in business attire, thankfully doesn’t give him a chance to respond. He lifts a basket and continues. “My arms are full.”

“Ok...”

“I need you to pick your best orange for me.”

“Pardon?”

The man jerks his basket towards the produce section along the far wall of the store. “My arms are full. So. I need _y__ou_ to pick the best orange for me.”

Dan runs his tongue along the inside of his lips over his teeth, like he’s sealing his mouth closed before the vitriolic “Go fuck yourself” can work its way out. The man must take his silence as approval, because he carries his basket up to the counter and begins making small talk with Jenn, who flicks her head at Dan to go get the man an orange.

He can hear them laughing as he picks his way over to the produce and grabs the godforsaken fruit.

Dan does not throw the orange at the customer.

Dan very quietly, and without complaint, puts the orange on the counter.

Dan might roll his eyes a little when the customer picks the orange up and turns to him to complain. “This is the best orange you have?”

“Um, yeah.”

“I don’t believe that this is the best orange. This isn’t even a passable orange.”

The man lumbers over to the produce section and begins picking through the oranges. He puts the fruit that fails to satisfy him into the neighbouring apple bin while Dan and Jenn watch from the counter.

Jenn shakes her head, her thick curls bouncing with the action. “Don’t say anything. In fact, maybe you should take a break?” She poses it as a question, but she’s technically his boss, so he starts untying his apron and tosses it back to her. Just as Dan’s about to make an escape, the customer lopes up to them and shoves the orange in Dan’s face.

“This is the best orange! Take note!”

Dan groans. Jenn grimaces discreetly and rings the orange in with everything else. The man is still trying to educate Dan on the value of a good orange when he exits the store, the bell chiming in his wake.

“Are you actually fucking kidding me.”

“That could have gone worse,” Jenn jokes. “You’re clearly growing as an individual.” She’s seen (and cleaned up) most of his messes over the past year and a half, ever since he dropped out of school and needed a job. He doesn’t try to do damage control anymore, instead opting to just stay quiet when problems arise.

“I’m literally the most mature person in London. Your dad should give me a raise.”

She flutters her blue nails at him. “Not likely.”

He’s been _trying_ to avoid looking at the clock mounted on the wall behind the register, but this most recent exchange draws his attention back to it. It’s only been fifteen minutes since he last looked, and he has a full two hours left until he can close up and leave.

The store is tiny with barely enough space for its five isles and two front registers. The food isn’t great either; Dan actively avoids looking at expiration dates when he stocks the dusty shelves. In actuality, a lot of it is more expensive than the regular grocery store, but the closest store is forty minutes away by bus, so the local college kids and the people the school employ do their shopping at this little hole in the wall grocer. Most of the customers are regulars who, at this point, are familiar enough with Dan's awkwardness to no longer attempt small talk while he checks them out. It isn’t his dream job, but it’s something. Besides, Jenn rents him a room in her flat for next to nothing, and her parents give him full time hours, even if it is just for minimum wage.

The hand on the clock shifts to seven pm with aching slowness, and Jenn hops down from the raised counter, tossing her apron on the stool behind it. "I'm taking off for the night. Try not to do anything too weird while I'm gone." He rolls his eyes at her bossy command and, again, manages to hold back his snarky reply.

Daniel Howell is _literally _the most mature person in all of London.

She’s gone in a flash of black hair and dark skin, the bell chiming behind her letting Dan know that he is blissfully alone for the first time all day. Even better: the store is quiet.

45-minutes later he sweeps his dirt into a pan and is just throwing it out when the bell chimes again. Dan raises his head to let the customer know it’s fifteen minutes to closing, but stops short when he catches sight of the guy.

The customer is tall and slim with vibrant eyes hidden behind a pair of stylish glasses. His quiff is perfect, like he's done his hair just to come to the store, and his T-shirt is covered in little cactus plants, all with cute smiley faces. He pauses in the door and looks around the room like he just stepped into Wonderland. He’s clearly a newcomer because he doesn’t pretend Dan is invisible. He smiles at him and makes a clear cut towards Dan at the front of the store.

"Hi!" A blinding smile stretches across his narrow face. "I'm looking for tea."

Dan sighs. It’s always irritating when people don’t even _try_ to look for things, but at least this means the guy will be gone quickly. He points to the stack of boxes directly behind him, and the shopper's eyes light up as he bustles over to it.

"This is actually a fairly good selection for such a little shop."

  


Dan shrugs and makes an escape to his stool, watching the man pace around. He keeps picking things up and putting them down, smiling excitedly at something only to shake his head at himself and put it back. Dan leans against the counter as the streetlights come on outside. The clock keeps creeping forward.

It’s closing time, but Dan can’t go anywhere until the guy leaves, and he’s dragging his feet, circling the store two or three times, humming _Toxic_ quietly to himself as he manhandles the products.

Dan doesn’t wait for him to be done before he starts shutting down. He turns the sign to Closed and does a quick inspection down the aisles behind the guy, who’s leaving a mess in his wake like a natural freaking disaster. This goes on for a good ten minutes before Dan works up the courage to kick him out.

"Uh, sorry, but we're closing up."

Surprisingly, the shopper takes it in stride, nodding and putting the item he’s holding back on the shelf. _Backwards_, Dan notices. He smiles at Dan, a pure, eye crinkling smile, and goes to the counter, retrieving his wallet from his back pocket. Dan grins at the face that smiles up at him. "Gengar?" He asks as he rings up a series of sweet teas and one pack of slightly expired instant coffee.

"Oh yeah, he's my favourite from the original one fifty." Is it just Dan, or do his eyes sparkle a little when he talks about Pokemon? This guy is clearly an adorable nerd. He can almost forgive him for keeping him there ten minutes late. Dan gives him his total. The stranger is reluctant to leave, even going so far as to ask him about his favourite Pokemon game and whether he thinks the new anime lived up to the original 90’s version.

And for the first time in over a year, Dan doesn’t hate interacting with a customer.

"I should let you get going, uh, Kanye." The man squints at Dan's name tag.

Dan laughs. "Ah. yeah. My boss and I have fun with the label maker sometimes. There's not a lot going on around here." God, he didn’t notice how lame that was until he said it aloud. This is why he doesn’t talk to people anymore.

"You can just call me Phil."

Just as Phil steps out with Dan close behind to lock the door, a woman comes busting through the door, an elderly woman using a walker at her heels. They almost run Phil over, who staggers back into a four foot tall stack of toilet paper and sends the whole pile flying.

And just like that, Dan’s patience is gone.

“I’m sorry!” Phil turns bright red and drops his bags to start cleaning up the mess.

“Look. You just. You need to go,” Dan says. Phil deflates and worries at his bottom lip as he looks back at Dan. He’ll deal with the mess in the morning. As long as he gets in before his boss sees it-

"What the hell are you still doing open?" Jenn's father comes flying in the door, his brows low over his dark eyes.

"I'm sorry. I was just finishing up with a customer." He gestures to a lingering Phil, quick to throw him under the bus in the face of his boss' anger.

"Well you should've been closed fifteen minutes ago! I'm not paying you for extra time because you're farting around when you should be closing up!" At the same time his attention falls on Phil. "I'm so sorry about this, sir. Dan here clearly needs more supervision."

Phil is still holding the toilet paper, his face a little red in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about that, sir. You have a good night." Oscar all but wrestles him out the door, glaring daggers at Dan who is saved by the impatient dinging of the bell on the counter and a high pitched holler.

_"Yoo-hoo. We're waiting!" _

Oscar doesn’t say anything more, just muttering to himself as he retreats to the back office. Dan scrambles to pick the toilet paper up and makes a run for it. He’s sure he’ll hear more about this most recent fuck up later.

*

Sure enough, Jenn is gone by the time Dan gets home. Her work shoes are stacked neatly on the rack by the door, the combined kitchen/living room spotless except for Dan's breakfast dishes, which are still sitting on the coffee table. He leaves them there, opting to pour himself another bowl of cereal for a cold, lonely supper.

The bills are on the table, and Jenn has left him a note reminding him electric and internet are both due at the end of the week. She's also left his pay cheque, and he opens it to find that while it _is_ correct, it’s barely enough to cover the basic utilities and maybe buy a few groceries. A look in the cupboard reveals a couple boxes of cereal, which are both quite stale

He takes his “meal” to his room and sits down at his desk. His gaming setup is the one thing he’s proud of. The pure black racing style gaming chair is the perfect fit for him, and his desktop tower has a clear case that lets him see the machine at work; the vibrant blue light helping to give the room some atmosphere while he games and watches YouTube videos late into the night.

He has it booted up and going, his fingers racing across the blue switch mechanical keyboard he bought just for the satisfying clicking noises it makes, but soon enough,Dan realizes that... well, he’s _bored_. For some reason, none of his regular games are stimulating him. He’s sick of listening to fourteen year old boys scream through his headset and all of the foul and hateful words other gamers on his teams keep saying. Just as he’s about to shut it down for the night, a YouTuber he follows uploads a new video titled "You can do WHAT in this game?".

In the thumbnail, the generic American is wearing a VR headset and jacket, his mouth open in mock surprise. A glance at the clock confirms it’s not even midnight, so Dan clicks the video.

"HELLOO EVERYBODY!" Dan flinches at the volume; he forgot how loud this guy is. The Internet personality twirls in his chair. "TODAY WE'RE PLAYING A NEW GAME, ONE I'VE BEEN INVITED TO PLAY BY THE PEOPLE OVER AT MOONWALKER GAMES. YES, THIS VIDEO IS SPONSORED, BUT IF YOU STICK AROUND TO THE END YOU'LL SEE THAT MOONWALKER IS OFFERING A VERY SPECIAL PROMOTION JUST TO YOU GUYS!" Dan leans back in his chair, watching the YouTuber explore a fantasy land in the first person. It’s a pretty straightforward MMORPG, with elements similar to Skyrim, but it looks so real the YouTuber is forced to take his headset off twice. As the video comes to a close, he takes his headset off and shakes out his thick black hair, grinning at the viewers. "THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! LIKE IT’S ALL SO REAL YOU GUYS DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND! NOW THIS GAME IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR LIMITED TESTING RIGHT NOW, AND THEY'RE ONLY SIGNING UP 500 PLAYERS TO TRY OUT THE FIRST QUEST AND TWENTY FIVE SIDE QUESTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE. AND THEY'VE CHOSEN YOU GUYS! THE FIRST 500 PEOPLE TO SIGN UP USING THE LINK IN THE DESCRIPTION BOX BELOW WILL GET THE CHANCE TO TRY THIS BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! AND BOY, YOU KNOW YOU GUYS WANT TO PLAY IT!"

Dan glances at the quickly rising viewer count and curses, fumbling to get the download code before all 500 spots are taken. He breathes out a sigh of relief as it prompts him to begin the download and make his account. CloudyDreams is his auto-generated nickname- not too cringe by his standards, so he leaves it be as he fishes out his own VR helmet. It’s a little clunky, an older model compared to the one the Youtuber had, but it still has the most important features, like smell and wind/air simulation.

Dan is transported to a small bedroom overlooking a medieval city. In front of him is a wooden mannequin, and he chooses the mannequin's size, features, basic starter outfit.

At last, he looks at his handiwork. The mannequin is small and tan, with short, white, straight hair that falls around elfin ears, delicate features including soft gray eyes that turn down in a way that strikes him as kindly, soft lips, thick grey brows, and a petite body dressed in a pair of soft grey pants and a white tunic. A large, soft blue knapsack is his add-on option, with a wooden pin in the shape of angel wings holding the flap closed.

He’s prompted to tap the mannequin twice when he’s done. Dan squeaks as he’s spun around rapidly, and finds himself alone in the room.

"Weird," he says, gasping as his voice comes out a little higher and more melodic than normal. The door at the top of the stairs opens and a middle-aged woman in a long brown dress lets herself into the room, addressing Dan as her son.

"Hello dear! Your father and I have a few errands for you to run. Would you mind collecting some herbs from the garden and taking them down to the medicine woman's stall in the market? She said she'd make some healing potions for a discount if we brought her our own ingredients."

"Uh, sure!" Dan says, sneaking past her and down the stairwell while she continues to speak in the same, over the top voice behind him. "The basket you'll need is on the kitchen table. The money is in the chest by the back door.”

Dan goes down the stairs, admiring how realistic the motion is, the steps creaking until he makes it to the kitchen where a beefy man sits enjoying a cup of tea. "Did you talk to your mother?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Take this basket and the money from the chest near the back door."

Dan can see the light in their eyes, the individual hairs across his dad's chin, the pores on their faces and even the rough calluses on their hands, but as real as they look, they are definitely NPCs.

He goes out into the yard, a quaint garden with bunch of bushes. Calming music plays as chimes make a soft tinkling noise from the small back porch he's stood on. His shoes are soft and sink into the earth when he steps down into the garden, and when he wiggles his toes he can feel them brush against the fabric. 

He wants to see more, to go out into the street. here's a gate with a dog sprawled in front of it, but it doesn't budge and even growls softly when he reaches for the latch. He retreats to the garden to finish the task quickly so the game will let him loose on the town, but when he bends down to pull the herbs, he has to _really_ pull. Like, it takes actual effort on his part beyond the normal ease of gaming. The herbs come free with a jerk, sprinkling earth down onto his knees and feet, the roots hanging with clumps of dirt and the leaves letting off a bitter scent that makes him wrinkle his nose.

He knows he isn't really smelling or feeling anything, but in this moment he is lost to the world around him, and he swears it's _real_.

He piles herbs into the basket and picks it up, marvelling at the weight of it in his small, well manicured hands, and goes out through the gate, this time stopping to pet the dog, who gives him a wet kiss that makes him giggle. The sun is warm as he steps out into the street, and he narrowly avoids a horse that comes barrelling down the road. A young boy with a smattering of freckles comes to a stop in front of Dan, huffing, tears in his eyes.

"Medallion ran away!" he gasps. "Please, if you see him, bring him back to the stable down the road! I'll even pay you!"

Dan continues on slowly, craning his head back to watch people in the windows, butterflies occasionally drifting between window boxes, birds flying overhead. He looks down at his feet to avoid stepping in wet puddles that reflect the sky, or tripping over the occasional rock. There are even weeds popping up between uneven cobblestones.

"Give it back!" He looks up to see a couple of boys holding a ball out of reach of another child, who balances on their toes to grab at it. They throw it back and forth. "That's my brother's ball! It's not even mine!"

"If you can reach it, you can have it!"

“Listen here you little shits...” Dan snatches the ball. He isn't used to being so short, and the kids easily come up to his nose. Still, they don't put up a fight, running off, jeering at him and the third child, who thanks Dan, rubbing at their teary eyes.

"They're such meanies! But look, thanks for helping me! Here, I was taking these cookies to my brother, but you can have one for helping me get his ball back!"

Dan takes the soft cookie, inhaling the scent of ginger, and slips it into his pocket.

"If you come back and help me out tomorrow I might even give you another cookie!" They call after him.

By the time he makes it to the market he has three gold pieces, a handful of fleece, a blue bracelet with a “mysterious power”, and the aforementioned cookie.

The market is lively, full of mouthwatering scents and strange people. There are monsters in this world, and he finds himself straining his head back to look up into the faces of half-giants and ogres, and stumbling at the sight of half-tiger and snake people interacting like regular humans. He feels cheated; he didn’t have the option to make a damn furry.

"Hey kid," someone hisses at him from an alley. He approaches the leaning snake-man slowly, careful to stay a few paces back. "Good, you know how to listen. Do you see that guy over there?" he flicks his forked tongue at a half-giant leaning over a stall of cured meats. There's a bag tied to his belt. "He took something from me and put it in his money pouch. You get the pouch for me, and you can get the money, plus this necklace." He reaches into his vest and produces a glittering snake charm with glowing ruby eyes that match his own eyes.

"Uh, no thanks mate. I'm good." Dan tries to step back, but the snake steps with him. "This is a one time offer, kid, and you have no idea what this charm is worth in a fight."

Despite himself, Dan hesitates. Before he can utter another word, the snake smiles, revealing fangs. "You have five minutes. Go!" A timer starts on the back of Dan’s hand, counting down the milliseconds.

“Ok. Right. Fuck it.”

Dan nervously approaches the half-giant. He's distracted and Dan, being so tiny, in simple clothing that barely rustles when he moves and human except for his ears, is the last person someone would notice. He swallows and turns back to the snake, who's watching him expectantly, his tongue darting out to taste the air and his bright eyes trained on Dan. Dan steps up and quickly grabs the bag, giving it a tug. The half-giant spins, catching his entire forearm in one hand.

"You dare try to steal from me?" The giant thunders.

Dan swallows and cranes his head around to look for the snake, but that dark corner is now empty and Dan is being hauled up by his arm, his legs swinging uselessly beneath him. He kicks at the half-giant, who grumbles. "The guards are going to have fun with you."

"Help!" Dan yells, even as he continues kicking uselessly.

"Need a hand?"

"Yes!" He answers the rough voice desperately, digging the fingers of his free hand into the giant's arm.

"Excuse me sir!" The giant stops abruptly and Dan sways in its grip like a ragdoll as it drags him around to look at the interruption. He's looking at a particularly handsome man, definitely a hero-type, with a slim but defined build, a face with a strong jawline, a short beard, and an imperial nose, thick but well-defined black brows, and sleek, flowing raven hair. His hero is wearing the same beginner clothes as Dan is, but his are vibrant shades of blue that match his eyes, and his extra item is a dagger.

"I don't think you want to do this," the giant warns in husky tones that promise violence, and Dan yells at the man.

The hero just beams at him, so easily that it makes Dan's heart flutter. He draws from his pocket a flower. The white daisy is a pitiful weapon against Dan's attacker, and he swears ferociously as the giant... drops him?The giant then takes the proffered flower and coos at the hero.

"Thank-you very much! I was giving up on the good in the world before you came along!"

Dan, still stunned, rolls onto his feet and starts edging away in a bid for escape. "Would you be willing to let my friend go?"

The giant swings around to glower at Dan. "Are you trying to run away?"

"N-no!" Dan feels his neck flush at the lie, but the hero is still smiling and the giant sighs.

"Just this once, I'll give you a warning. You have a good day," he tells the hero, and returns to the meat booth, now sniffing his flower happily. The snake has not reappeared.

"Um, thanks," Dan says. Now that he's on the ground, he has to really look up at the man who saved him. He really didn't think being short would require this much neck stamina!

"No problem! The giant has a trick; he likes the flowers the little girl at the start of the market sells. I take it the snake got you?" He's still grinning like an idiot, and when a passerby bumps into Dan he catches him and steadies him- Dan is assaulted by the pleasant scent of oranges.

"Uh, yeah. You really know your way around this game." They fall into step together, and Dan, still shaken by the incident, decides it's time to eat his cookie.

The hero speaks in a hushed tone. "It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah! I've never experienced anything like it!"

"That's good! Hey, are you on the Witch's hut quest yet?"

"There are witches?"

"I'll take that as a no," the man laughs.

"I've only just gotten here. I'm a total n00b." Dan admits shyly.

"The game just opened up to testers. Everyone's new!" He guides Dan to a line of people all wearing the same clothes as Dan himself and his new... friend, all holding baskets of herbs.

"Shit! I lost my basket!"

"The game won't give you another one until tomorrow!"

Dan groans, but the other player just shrugs. “I’ll help you look for it. I’m Fylgon, by the way.”

"Uh, Cloud_?_" They shake hands, and again Dan is startled by how real it feels to be touching this stranger in a virtual world. His hand is rougher than Dan’s, strong and calloused from labour. Warmth shoots up Dan’s arm from where they’re touching, and he quickly withdraws.

"Well, Cloud, let's go find your basket!"

Dan follows Fylgon back the way they came, and they split up to look for Dan's basket. Finally, he finds it overturned in the alley with only a single herb in it. "Well that's unfortunate," Fylgon says.

Out of the shadows steps a little girl, a big basket of flowers held in her two little hands. "Would you like to buy a flower?" She offers, grinning. She's missing her two front teeth, and she would be adorable if it weren't for the stolen herbs atop her pile of flowers and the slightly menacing expression in her wide yellow eyes.

Fylgon whistles low. "I was worried about that.”

"Those are my herbs!" Dan lunges for them, but the child quickly steps back.

"Finder's keepers!" Like with the giant, no one pays them any attention, save Fylgon, who chuckles.

"Are you willing to trade the herbs for anything?

Dan scoffs. “What’s the point in trying to reason with her? She’s a freaking NPC!”

She sticks her tongue out at him before smiling at Fylgon shyly. "Did you give your flower to someone special?"

"I did!"

"Then I'll trade you all five herbs for a cookie!"

Dan is about ready to rip his hair out and starts breathing through his nose. Gaming should be relaxing! But Fylgon, truly a lawful good kind of player, produces a gingersnap from his pocket.

"Yum!" The girl throws the herbs at Dan's feet and he bends down to pick them up. When he stands, Fylgon is gone.

He looks around, slightly perplexed, but can't spot his knight in shining armour anywhere.

Interest piqued but now alone, he can’t help but look for Fylgon for the rest of the night.


	2. Something Weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming back for chapter two. Here it is, in all its glory. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Many thanks to autumn-in-phandom for taking the time to beta this chapter for me.

Dan jumps when something foreign touches him. He remembers with a start that he is at his desk, in his room, in a little flat in London, and not in a happy, sunshine filled village doing odd jobs for hedgehogs and sweet old grannies who might be witches.

The stream of peaceful music, birdsong, and village chatter is interrupted when Jenn pulls up his headset. "It's almost 9. You haven't been up all night playing some stupid game, have you?"

The feeling of slight accomplishment vanishes like a puff of smoke as he rips the helmet off fully and spins to look at Jenn. Her thick hair has been pulled back into a bun, her orange painted lips are pursed, and she's looking at him like he’s some rat that she found in the house as opposed to her flatmate.

"My dad told me about last night. I told you not to do anything weird!"

"It's not my fault I had a rush of customers right at closing time!" He defends. He's aware, with a flush of disappointment, that his real life is still where and how he left it, and he's already itching to get back into the game, where his parents have a bed for him, he can make money by walking in the woods and picking mushrooms, people give him things when he's kind to them, and everyone wants to help each other out. He also wants to see Fylgon again, to pay him back for before, and to get another smile from a real, genuine person. Even now Fylgon might be logging on and hanging out somewhere in the village!

Dan takes a deep breath and looks at his phone. It’s 8: 49 am. He has a half hour to get dressed and get the store opened up.

Jenn nags him from outside the bathroom door, in the lift down to the lobby, and then all the way to work until they're standing in front of the door.

"What are you waiting for?" She asks.

"Are you going to open the door?" He hedges after a few moments of awkward eye contact.

"Oh my god. Are you kidding me?" She pokes him in the chest with a well manicured finger. "You have the key!"

"I left it on the counter for you last night!"

"Why wouldn't you just keep it if you knew you were opening this morning? You know what, Daniel?" She takes a deep breath and his stomach turns to lead. "You need to step it up as an employee and as a roommate. I can't keep doing this with you. I'll go get the key-"

"I'll get it!" Dan quickly interjects as Oscar rounds the corner. It kills him to know that they'll talk unkindly about him while he's gone, but it's better than facing his boss alone. 

He ignores the deep desire to just lock the flat door and go back to his game. The key isn't even on the counter like it should be, and he has to scour the apartment before he finds it in the cereal cupboard.

He runs back to the store, huffing and out of breath when he gets there and finds it open. The sign is on and the door is propped open. There are already a few customers lingering about, picking up coffee creamer, eggs, and the like.

Jenn smiles at a customer, bagging up some produce and laughing like they're old friends. He feels a pang of jealousy at her easy way of speaking to strangers, at how well she gets along with them.

She regards him sadly when he sets the key down on the counter.

"My dad had a key."

"I'm sorry."

Her shoulders sag. "Don't be sorry. Be better."

He flushes. If it were that easy to suck less he would've finished his degree and he wouldn't be working as a cashier. He wouldn't be waiting all day to game all night, and even finding that to be growing dull recently. Last night was fun, he reminds himself as he runs down the aisle to deal with a shipment of meats that should already be in the freezer. It quickly becomes his mantra for the day, something to cling to desperately when he feels like he’s drowning in his real responsibilities.

Luckily, there's no sign of Oscar, which doesn't mean he won't come out; he spends most of his day in the office managing the accounts, making orders, etc. Jenn, Dan, and a student named Libby are the only three cashiers available right now since everyone else is on holiday, and though the extra hours have been more than nice, Oscar has not been happy to have Dan around so much, making his store all awkward.

Dan jumps when the office door creaks open and Oscar's voice calls out to him. "Daniel, come in here please."

He puts the last pack of hamburgers in the cooler and goes in on wobbly knees, ready to beg for his job. He doesn't have a lease on the apartment, and since Jenn's parents technically own it they could toss him to the curb in both home and work.

"I'm sorry about last night," Dan says quickly. His thoughts have grown hectic and wild with anxiety, and he finds that his filter isn't doing anything to keep his worries from bubbling out. "I was trying not to be rude to a customer, but I should've been more firm."

"You really tick me off, Daniel but I was wrong to lash out at you the way I did last night. I know how hard it can be to get people out at night. I just wish, at your age, that you would know to get people out and lock up quickly."

"Yes sir, I'm sorry."

Oscar sighs. "I'm sorry too Dan. This is your last warning. Jenn really likes you, but I can't afford to pay other people to pick up your slack. You left a mess in here last night that I had to deal with this morning because you were late, and your til was off by over five dollars yesterday."

Dan and Jenn shared a til for most of the day, but he knows better than to insinuate it could be her fault.

"I understand."

"Now go have a good day. If you don't know how to do something or you need help, ask Jenn. Don't try to figure it out on your own."

Dan quickly ducks out, swiping at tears of embarrassment. Jenn sees him and frowns, waving him over and passing him a tissue box. The tissue is old and cheap, and turns to dust in his hands, but he still thanks her.

"He didn't fire you, did he?" Jenn presses. Her frustration from earlier has deflated in front of his embarrassment and sadness.

"He just gave me a warning."

Jenn lets out a loud sigh of relief and then bumps shoulders with him. "That's OK then. You'll do better today!"

He doesn't know how to do better, or why he should even want to for a minimum wage job that he sucks at, but he still nods. Jenn starts cleaning up the fruit section for a fresh shipment while he goes through the community board and pulls down any old ads or posters. Once that's done, he dusts down the shelves. It’s a losing battle, but it’ll at least make him look busy while Oscar is lingering in the store. Dan is just dusting the cans of soup when he bumps into someone from behind.

"Sorry," he mutters, looking around for signs of Oscar and scrambling to pick up the customer's fallen basket. When he comes back up he's startled to see the guy from the night before.

"We have to stop meeting like this," the guy says brightly. Dan has, somehow, forgotten his name in less than 24 hours. Yet another reason why he’s a failure.

"Er, right." Dan says. Looking at Oscar's office he loudly inquires. "Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" He quiets his voice until it's almost a whisper. "Say 'yes.'"

The guy seems to be laughing at him with his eyes, and his tongue sticks through his teeth a little in his open smile, but he plays along. "Uh, yeah, can you show me where the coffee is?"

"Of course I can, sir. Follow me to our great selection of teas." When he spins around, the customer leans forward, so close that Dan can feel the puff of his breath against his ear. His voice is low.

"Are you being kept here against your will?"

"Wha-"

The customer sticks his arm out. "Tap my arm once if you're in danger, twice if you're safe."

Dan huffs, an exasperated but quiet chuckle, and taps two fingers against the pale arm twice, a wry grin on his face as they approach the hot drink section.

"Here you go. Let me know if you need anything else."

Dan retreats to the counter where he watches the stranger once again loot through the tea section, finally picking some horribly out-of-season Candycane Lane Peppermint Tea, before going on the same wild hunt he'd been on the night before. Jenn leans over the counter to hiss at him. "Hey, do you know that guy?"

"Not really. He's my customer from last night."

She swears quietly. "I get it now."

"What?"

Dan turns around, and she's giving the customer a thorough look from head to toe and back again as he picks through the jellies.

"I don't know what you're on about," Dan argues.

"Sure. Watch how it's done." She smoothly manoeuvres Dan out of the way, despite being half his size, and smiles with genuine warmth at the customer when he approaches the register. "Just the tea today, sir?"

He doesn't even notice her smile, because he's looking at Dan, and Dan's face is flushing. "This is terribly out of season," Dan criticizes, even as he shoves it into a paper bag.

Jenn bristles. "Dan!"

The customer’s ( _ why _ can’t Dan remember his name?) smile grows impossibly larger. "It's OK. I just moved to town, and I guess I'm feeling a little homesick. Mum always has peppermint tea in the house but this is all you have."

"Dan can go look in the back." Jenn volunteers. The signal is clear; leave her alone with the customer so she can work her magic on him, so Dan complies, scurrying to the closet at the back where they keep what little extra merchandise they can't fit in the main store. It's really just big enough for Dan to squeeze into it between three walls of shelves, and it takes him all of two minutes to locate a box labelled 'tea'.  _ Sorry, Jenn _ , he thinks wryly. He reaches out, dips his hand into the box, and shrieks, pulling back as something fuzzy with multiple legs brushes along the back of his hand. A spider the size of his fist crawls out onto the edge and he screams, a high, girly cry that punctuates the small space. He rips his hand back, catching the box... and pulling the entire shelf down on top of him. There's a crash when he falls back, followed by the bangs of boxes falling around him and a series of cans hitting the tiled floor.

Oscar, Jenn, and the customer all come running, the stranger keeping back while Jenn and Oscar yell - they are related, after all - and Dan tries to explain.

Oscar goes quiet.  _ Too _ quiet. "Are you OK?"

His job is over. This random dude is about to see Dan get his ass handed to him.

"I'm so sorry sir."

"Are you OK, Daniel? Do you need me to drive you to the doctor? Did anything fall on you?"

"Dad! I told you last week that shelf wasn't stable!"

"Let Daniel speak, Jennifer!"

The stranger is looking around like he wants to escape, but he isn't sure if it's appropriate for him to just run.

"I'm OK. Nothing fell on me. I just slipped. I'm sorry I broke the shelf."

"That's OK. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? With pay," he amends when Jennifer kicks him. "Call me or talk to Jenn later if you realize you're at all injured."

"Thank you." Honestly, Dan has had enough of this day. His lack of sleep is catching up with him, and he's anxious, nervous. Gripping unease has been rolling through him since he forgot the key this morning, and he was bound to fuck up at some point. At least Oscar and Jenn have decided this screw up isn't his fault.

He makes for the door, realizing when the customer holds the door open for him that he was waiting for Dan all along.

"Listen, I'm sorry you've had to see what a disaster I am twice now." Dan says. Honestly, no one should be subjected to seeing him this often.

"You're not more of a disaster than I am!" The stranger pulls a slightly crumpled daisy out of his pocket and brandishes it with a flourish. "I picked this on my way to the store this morning. You can have it!"

Dan awkwardly accepts, and the stranger grins. "I'm Phil, by the way. I think I told you last night, but sometimes it’s easy to forget names if you’ve only heard them once, you know? Besides, I feel like I'm the one causing you trouble." They're walking towards Dan's flat, chatting like old friends instead of a cashier and the customer he keeps inconveniencing.

"You're new to the area?"

"Yeah! I moved for work. I mostly work from home, but I have weekly meetings here in London so it just made more sense."

"That's cool. If I worked from home I'd just procrastinate and play games all day."

"That is tempting," Phil chuckles. "But it beats a 9-5 working my butt off to make someone else money."

Dan doesn't say that he's jealous, even though it twists at his gut. "Yeah, I can confirm it's not a great time."

"Oof, sorry mate. I really did think that you were being held against your will. I thought I was going to have to bust out some sweet ninja moves to get you out."

Dan gives him the same up and down look that Jenn gave him earlier. He's a tall guy, kind of lanky but with a little definition in his arms. When Dan makes it to his face, he finds Phil staring at him, grinning, unblinking and Dan feels his face heat. He looks down, but winds up looking at the daisy, which makes him blush harder.

"This is me," he says, wondering if Phil is going to follow him inside. Phil looks a little disappointed, but nods, and any worry (or hope, Dan realizes) that Phil will try to come in disappears when he turns around and starts walking away.

"Ok. I guess I'll head on home. I'll see you around!"

Dan ignores the urge to call him back, still a little pink when he spins the daisy between his thumb and forefinger.

_ What a strange guy _ . Nice, but strange.

*

Dan wakes up at half past eleven. He has now almost completely reversed his sleep schedule, which he would bitch about if he wasn't pulled by the promise of a nice day in-game. He smiles at the daisy propped in the drinking glass he's set on his desk, its happy face leaning towards him. His heart picks up speed when he thinks about Phil giving it to him and he hastens to return to the game, shoving the helmet over his mess of curls and rapidly clicking past the home screen.

He awakens in the wooden room, overlooking the city.

It's night. The street, when he roams out into it, is lit by a series of glowing rainbow lights that slowly shift colour. The town isn't any quieter than it was the day before, and he's a bit confused when he catches sight of his hero.

"Fylgon!" he calls, and the handsome player's attention snaps up to him when Dan jogs over. "What's up with the night settings?" he asks, foregoing a polite greeting.

"Oh, hey Cloud!" Fylgon smiles that easy, winsome smile at Dan, leaning in close. "Night and day alternate here every 24 hours, as opposed to every 12 hours. There are different quests, a different set of NPCs, different loot you can find or win."

"Cool," Dan breathes. "Oh, by the way!" He hands Fylgon a little spell pouch. "It's a good luck charm I got on a quest. I thought I could give it to you for everything you did for me yesterday."

"Thanks!" Fylgon smiles, and again it seeps into his eyes. Their hands brush when they exchange it, and the contact sends a little shiver down Dan’s spine.

Dan falls into step with him, having to take two steps to keep up with his much longer legs. "So what are you doing tonight?"

Fylgon looks at him from the corner of his shocking blue eyes. "I was planning on picking a weapons class. Did you want to join me?"

Dan feigns nonchalance, shrugging like he could take it or leave it while glee bubbles up inside of him, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "Sure."

Fylgon makes a sharp turn, and Dan struggles to catch up with him as he weaves down alleys and back out onto the main street further down, closer to the gate. They go out into the beginner's wood, and Fylgon points. "There's a team of bandits out there! If we join a party and go to fight them, the game will prompt us to pick our own weapons."

Fylgon knows a surprising amount about the game. He must have been one of the earliest players, Dan reasons, maybe a twitch streamer or something who got an earlier view than Dan himself.

"What kind of weapon were you thinking?" Dan asks as Fylgon starts rounding up other players to join their team.

"Dual swords, for sure."

"What if that's not an option?"

Fylgon just shrugs. "Magic maybe. Were you thinking of being a healer?"

Dan snorts. He'd been thinking archer. "That only works if you're part of a team."

"And you prefer being alone?"

"Well, no, but I also don't know anyone."

"You know me. And look! We have a team."

"Ugh, fine, I'll think about it!"

Fylgon leads the team of five n00bs into the wood, where a band of (rather weak, but still challenging for level one) bandits are holed up. They sneak up as close as they can, the girl next to Dan chewing her nails when they start hearing the Bandits talking. They're chattering. Having a real conversation, like real people. Dan's gut flips. He feels like this is too real. If he can smell herbs and taste cookies, feel grass under his feet and sunshine on his face, is it going to hurt to fight?

Fylgon makes the gesture to attack and the band of unarmed players rushes out of the woods. Dan's heart is in his stomach. He tears the helmet off and gets a glass of water to cool down before bracing himself. For some reason, the daisy in the corner gives him courage, and he pulls the helmet back on.

It’s carnage. His team is armed, but they're getting their collective asses handed to them. Even Fylgon is on his knees, an arrow protruding from his shoulder.

Rather than run, Dan jumps into the fray.

He blinks, and the screen changes. The words  _ tap once for no, twice for yes  _ scroll across the glass of a mirror before fading to reveal his reflection. He forgot how different he looks, with his delicate features, wide grey eyes, and pale skin. In the mirror, he's holding a sword. He taps once and the sword is a lance. He taps again to see a staff with flames on it. Again, he taps. This is taking too long! By now they may have lost!

He taps twice more through water magic and thief skills, before  _ Healer _ flashes on the screen. The healer has a gilded staff with a plus sign hanging off the edge. He reaches to tap past it, but remembers Fylgon's words. There's no way, even if they're still all hanging in there, one more warrior will make a difference. Dan rapidly multi-taps, and for a moment he worries the screen has frozen, then he's diving out of the way to avoid a sword, the world flipping upside down as he executes a clumsy forward roll that leaves him dizzy. He runs to Fylgon, who is on his elbows in the mud, and whacks him with the staff. The swordsman grunts, so Dan takes another approach. He pushes as much focus and concentration as he can into the staff, and a sky blue light emanates from it, cool as peppermint on his hand.

Fylgon's eyes snap up to his, and then he moves, punching up with his sword and impaling the bandit behind Dan. Warm blood sprays on his back and he falls forward into Fylgon who grabs him and twirls him around, holding him in one arm, clutching Dan like a child while he wards off another attacker with the sword in his other hand.

Fylgon's lips brush against Dan's cheek as he asks, low and gravelly, to heal the others while Fylgon holds the attackers off. He releases Dan and pushes him towards a fallen comrade. The nail biter eyes him suspiciously when he approaches. Her breath comes in great, unpleasant gasps.

"You. Ran. I don't. Want. Your help."

"I'm sorry, but I'm the only healer."

"No."

Fylgon ends the argument. "Hurry up, Cloud. I can't hold them off alone much longer!"

"I can't heal her without her consent!"

"Oh my god, just hurry up!" The girl snaps. Dan flinches, but pushes some of the healing light into her before she springs up. She rolls forward, almost disappearing before stabbing Fylgon's attacker in the back, ending him in one graceful movement.

Dan is moving, healing the next person, a half-giant who eyes him silently before throwing a bandit over the wall. He continues, healing a second swordsman who eyes Fylgon's skills with a scowl, and a grateful archer who misses two opponents.

The battle goes quickly after that, but Dan is still out of breath from dashing from player to player and forcing healing energy out of himself by the time the last bandit bites the dust.

Did he think being a healer would be easy?

"Thanks man, we all would've been dead without you!" The archer says, offering Dan an awkward high five with an arrow held under his arm. The giant nods, but the thief quietly seethes, and the swordsman scoffs.

"Speak for yourself!"

Fylgon swoops in, hauling Dan up in a massive hug that makes his bones creak. He's feeling a little limp, so he doesn't fight the affection. "Well done, my friend! Healer is a great class! We're all lucky you chose it."

"Are you two a couple?" The thief asks. There's an unkindness to it, and Dan imagines she's jealous. Or homophobic in modern times, which is hardly a good look.

"No," Dan says quickly, but Fylgon just smiles to himself, unphased either way, and sets Dan on his feet.

He walks on ahead of them. "Loot time!"

Everyone crowds around the crudely made chest, and Fylgon pulls Dan forward. "For saving us all, Cloud, I think you should be the one to open this."

"Thanks." Dan runs his hands over the cool metal edging on the otherwise plain chest and heaves upwards. It opens with a creak, and light spills over his face. Numbers begin rolling in front of his face, revealing experience points, money earned, and a special necklace of increased speed, all moved to his inventory or applied to his character.

Everyone around him has the same satisfying set of numbers.

They start heading back to the village, but Fylgon wraps a big hand around Dan's arm, holding him back. "I think it's time to go our separate ways." The rest of the group agrees, and then the party dissolves, but Fylgon doesn't release Dan right away. "I thought you and I could stay together a while longer."

"Actually, I should probably go to bed," Dan hears himself saying. He's exhausted, and he can't have three shitty work days in a row or he might actually implode. Or get fired for real. Fylgon's handsome face is crestfallen. His hands bunch into fists. Dan picks one of Fylgon’s hands up and smooths it out, then pats it like that would make the gesture less weird. "I had a really good time. You were right; being a healer is going to be a really cool experience, but it would suck if I was alone. Play with me again tomorrow night?"

"It's a date."

  
  
  



	3. Old Friends, New Friends

Morning always seems to come too quickly these days, and today is no exception when Dan’s alarm shrieks at him from his desk. He rolls out of bed in a tangle of sheets from a restless night and scrambles to get ready in time for work. He has to skip breakfast and dives out the door after Jenn, who keeps giving him weird looks in the elevator. There’s a grimy full length mirror on each side of it and the door is a light metal so no matter where he looks he can’t escape her scrutiny.

"What?"

"You look like shit. Please tell me you weren't up all night playing that game again?" Today she's wearing her hair in space buns, with purple lipstick and white winged liner. Even in her uniform she looks amazing, and Dan realizes why it's never occurred to her why he likes video games, how nice it can be to escape life sometimes. She seems like she's happy just to hunker down into her life and make the most of it, but she's also still in school, just getting through on this job until the real world is ready to take her in. For Jenn there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but this is Dan's real life. At this rate he'll spend the next sixty years working a shitty job with no prospects for anything better, sharing a flat with someone he genuinely likes but who doesn’t understand him on any deep or meaningful level. He can't get away from his own reflection. There are dark circles under his eyes and even with his flat iron his hair is hanging wrong, covering his eyes like something out of a horror movie. The yellow light flickers in the elevator as they descend and suddenly he isn't just sad and self-pitying: He's angry.

"I like games!" he snaps, and that's all the permission Jenn needs to lose it on him.

"You used to be really cool! You went out with me! We made meals together! What the hell happened to you!"

"This job happened to me! This apartment happened!"

Her perfectly painted lips turn down in a disappointed frown, and he regrets it, but it’s too late to take it back. He gets off the elevator alone, and when he turns around the doors are closing with Jenn still inside, staring silently at her shoes. He walks to work alone, glad to find that the key is still in his pants pocket from yesterday. He opens the store without incident, which is a nice change from the last couple of days, and Oscar doesn’t say anything on his way through to the office, not even to ask where Jenn is. She must have texted him with some excuse.

Every time the bell rings all morning, he looks up expecting to see Jenn coming in for her shift, or Phil back for more tea, but neither of them show up all day. His til balances perfectly, though Oscar doesn’t comment on it like he normally would. Dan is left feeling angry, and on edge, and not looking forward to going home when his replacement shows up to let him off. He briefly considers going to a coffee shop, just to procrastinate going back to his place where Jenn might still be angry with him, but finally he starts back. He doesn’t have the spare cash for some fancy beverage.

He's given up anything good happening when someone yells at him from the other side of the street.

"Hey!" Phil greets him dressed in another nerdy t-shirt, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the late afternoon sun as he jogs across the street with the grace of a hippo. His hair is perfect, and it makes Dan brush back his own uncooperative locks. Phil is happy to see Dan, and sadly this shocks him. When was the last time someone was happy to see him?

"Hi," Dan says. "You didn't need any tea today?"

Phil looks puzzled, squinting at Dan and messing up his hair by running his fingers through it, but then his expression clears, and Dan is met with a stunning smile that stretches from ear to ear. "Did you miss me?"

"Uh, no. I just notice when regular customers don't come in for their tea!"

"I'll be sure to come in tomorrow!"

"Do whatever you want!" Their conversation keeps escalating in volume, even though they've also been getting closer to one another until they stand toe to toe on the sidewalk.

"So where were you today?" Dan asks.

"The pet store!"

Dan steps back to look Phil over. "...Did you buy something?" He half expects a hamster to poke its head out of Phil's pocket.

"Nah. I mostly just go out to get out. Working from home doesn't give me a lot of opportunity to get to know my new neighbourhood."

Perhaps it’s just his extreme procrastination skills, or maybe it’s because he wants to soak up Phil's cheeriness a little longer, but Dan can’t help but follow Phil down the street. "I didn't know there was a pet store around here."

"Really?" Phil squeaks. "How long have you been here for?"

"Uh, I don't know. A year?" He doesn't like to think about all of the wasted time, all of the dreams that have slipped out of his grasp since he came to London. In truth, he’s only still here because he can't admit to his failings. Not that his family would have him back. He's sure they've forgotten about him by now.

"You've been here for a year and you haven't been to the pet store?" "Correct." "What about the greenhouse down the street?"

"Nope." "The coffee shop around the corner?"

"Well, yeah. A man needs his coffee."

"Well this man needs cuddle time,” Phil pauses and Dan’s heart skips a beat. “With cute dogs."

They walk for a long while, chatting about the best dog breed, the places they’d like to travel, their favourite TV shows and movies, before Dan realizes they’ve gone way out of their way. "I thought you said you lived by the store.”

“Oh! I do. But I was enjoying our talk, so I kept walking." Dan feels a headache coming on. He's never procrastinated so hard he's gotten himself lost before, and he wonders idly if maybe Phil is as much of a mess as he is, if their combined powers of awkwardness have been causing his recent trouble at work. While Dan contemplates the source of all his problems, Phil grabs his elbow and leads him across the street and into a shop. A smile tugs at the corners of Dan’s mouth.

"Oh wow! I haven't been here in ages." The board game shop is crammed with games, the floor to ceiling shelves completely stacked with boxes. A couple of girls in Zelda sweaters are playing Yu-Gi-Oh at a low table, while a man around Dan's age sorts Pokemon cards at the counter. The shop is air-conditioned, cramped but cool and comfortable. 

"Welcome to The Round Table. Oh- hey Dan."

"Dustin." Seeing Dustin is like drinking flat pop. It soothes some ache in Dan, but it leaves him with a bad taste in his mouth. They almost had a thing around the same time he started working with Jenn. Almost. Things had been heading that way, and it was _good._ Then his parents found out, and Dan freaked out, and he just... stopped. He stopped going out. He stopped doing things. Looking at Dustin makes him remember that life Dan thought for a second was possible, and now here he is, still a cashier a year later, still single, and still wondering 'what if?'.

"I thought you moved away."

"Nope, I'm still at Sunshine Grocer's. Down the street." Dustin frowns, which doesn't make him any less attractive, and Dan thinks he's going to ask a question, but he just shakes his head and turns his attention to Phil, who has been watching them with an unblinking expression. Dan elbows him.

"Do you have any Mash-ups?" Phil asks and Dustin clicks into gear to show Phil a section of assorted expansion packs and add-ons, and Dan is alone and out of place, sure that Jenn is even more pissed since his shift ended over an hour ago and he still isn't home. Dustin and Phil are deep in conversation over the shelves. And that's the last straw. He turns to leave, but he only makes it to the corner before Phil is on him, keeping his hands to himself, but also keeping pace with Dan.

"What happened?"

"I just have to get home. Jenn and I got into a fight this morning."

"Jenn?" Phil prods.

"My flatmate."

"Not your girlfriend though, right?" Phil fidgets with his sleeve when Dan a wry laugh slips through his lips.

"Jenn’s way too cool for me. Did you get your game?"

"I think you’re cool. I'll get it next time." Phil keeps pace with him down the street, allowing Dan his thoughts and some quiet company until Dan relaxes a bit.

"Why are you so interested in me?" Dan ruins the silence with the most awkward question he could ask. Seriously though. It isn’t as though anything is happening in his life. He isn’t an interesting person, or a person doing interesting things. He’s kind of just a man-shaped blob.

Phil falters for a moment, but recuperates quickly. "I thought we could be friends. We seem to have similar interests. I like you." If honesty was a weapon, Phil handles his well, and Dan swallows back some emotion he hasn't felt in a long time that makes his tummy bubble.

"I'd like that," he says quietly, truthfully. Phil beams, and Dan smiles back a little, before making a face. "I really have to go home though."

"That's OK." Phil points down a side street. "I'm that way. Oh, and Dan, I'll see you tomorrow."

The promise gives Dan some small piece of courage, urging him to go onward, back to Jenn and his problems. The sun had set while they walked, and an evening chill is seeping into the late summer night, so he speeds up, going even faster when steady footsteps begin echoing his own from behind, and he turns to catch sight of a figure in a hoodie with a cap pulled low. Dan all but books it back to the apartment, his long legs coming in handy as he punches into the lobby and slams the door closed with his heart in his throat. He wishes he had Phil's number so he could warn him there was somebody weird about. Instead he drags himself into the elevator and up to his flat.

"Hello." Jenn greets him from the couch. She's let her hair down and changed into a trendy outfit that features a skin tight black tank top and a pair of high-waisted jeans. It's a power outfit, the one she wore when she broke up with James. There's a glass of wine in her hand, the red liquid almost gone. Dan sighs, and goes to sit down across from her.

"Just say it," he says.

"We've been friends for a long time," she begins. "I- this isn't easy, but I think if we keep going on like this, we won't be friends for much longer."

"So what? You're kicking me out."

"Not tonight, but by the end of August I'd like you to be packed up and moved out. You'll get your security deposit back, and you've already paid last month's rent, so technically you could have September too, but it'll be easier to rent in September with students coming back to school so-"

"I get it. I'll start looking tomorrow."

Jenn nods and gets up to go to her room, snagging her bottle of wine. "I'm really sorry it ended up like this."

No one is sorrier for how things have turned out like Dan is, but he doesn’t say so. Instead, he slinks back to his room, casting one soft look at the drooping daisy on his desk and the headset he’s too exhausted to put on. Hopefully Fylgon will understand. Tomorrow is going to be another shitty day, but at least... he looks at the flower. He’s going to see his new friend tomorrow, and that is worth something. That night he dreams that he is Cloud, and he’s on a grand adventure with a faceless, but kindhearted man with a deep Northern accent and long dark hair, dipping through the skies in joyful flight. And Dan is happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been MIA. Life is busy and I have other writing to do, but I haven't abandoned this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one will be up soon, pinky swear.


	4. Chapter 4

The elevator ride to work is tense. Jenn doesn’t know what to say to Dan any more than Dan knew what to say to Jenn, and for a change she’s quiet. Even Oscar seems to pick up on it and calls Dan into his office around lunch.

"I'm very sorry, Dan, but I'm going to have to let you go. I had a customer call to complain about you yesterday."

"Sir, yesterday was a very good day."

"If it had been one complaint, I would let it slide. But the truth is that they've been piling up, and with everything else that's been happening around here you're just not the right fit for us. I'm happy to be your reference while you look for a new job, and you'll have a severance package to get you through for a couple of weeks while you job hunt."

"Thank you, sir." Dan doesn’t know what else to say. He throws his apron at Jenn on his way out the door. "So now I'm homeless _and_ unemployed. Your family is really upstanding," he snaps. On his way past, he rips a colourful poster advertising a search for a flatmate off of the community board.

He doesn’t look behind him.

*

The coffee shop is quiet first thing in the morning. Honestly, Dan would rather be at home sorting through job and apartment ads, but he has no interest in seeing Jenn. Or letting his anxiety mount while he waits for her to walk in on him in the kitchen. He hasn't been online since it happened. He's worried that if he goes back into that beautiful world he won't want to come out again. And he really doesn't have a choice, does he?

So far, he's applied to five major retailers online. It takes bloody forever to apply over the internet. They want a copy of his pitiful resume, then they want him to type out all of the information in the resume word by word in individual boxes. It takes almost a half hour to apply to one job, and once he gets to the end of his current session the shop's wifi has run out and it refuses to submit the form.

"Submit, submit you motherfucking-"

"Sir, we're going to need to ask you to leave if you're going to scream."

Dan looks up to see a room full of shocked patrons and the teenager awkwardly trying to protect the establishment's peace. Heat spreads up his neck and he hurriedly throws everything into his bag to go.

Now he's never going to be able to come back here.

He runs out into the street, and before he knows it he's walking past the grocers, looking anywhere but at the shop as he hurries past. Libby, the student who works weekends, catches him as he comes around the corner. Her lips perk up into a gleeful smile. "Hey Dan! How's your summer."

He laughs without humour. "Worst summer of my life. You back from your camping trip?"

She gestures to the sun-warmed tan on her long, toned arms. She's studying kinesiology at uni and it shows in her muscular frame. She always wears sporty clothes to work and her blonde hair is coming loose from its braid.

"Are you working with me tonight, or are you on your way out?"

"Oh, I'm on my way out all right." He says cryptically. She frowns, her mouth forming a pout as she puzzles over his words. "I'm sure that Jenn will tell you all about it when you get there, but I won't be back."

"Oh." She wraps him in a warm hug. She's always quick to offer, but he often declines. Still, it feels nice. When she backs away she nods at him. "You'll be OK. I know I'm not a supervisor or anything, but I'm happy to act as a reference if you need one for your resume. You have my number?"

He feels better than he has all day when they go their separate ways, a little buoyed, a little hopeful. He might even apply for some more jobs, he thinks, then decides it would probably be best to look for a place to live.

He finds a library with public wifi and starts looking at boards. Most of them are way overpriced, or worse; they're cheap, but without photos, wanting to meet up at night in distant corners of the city.

Just as he's about to give up on this task as well, he remembers the flyer he pulled down yesterday. Sure enough, it's crumpled in the bottom of his bag, but it's still there, a number scrawled across the bottom and decorated with glitter. Whoever made it clearly has too much time on their hands, but Dan still texts the number.

  
  


_hey. i saw your ad for a flatmate. wondering if that's still available. _

When he doesn't get an immediate response, he decides to just call it a day. The stress is going to keep gnawing at him until everything is settled, but pushing himself into a breakdown like he did in uni isn't going to help.

He goes the long way around to avoid the store, and breathes a sigh of relief when he gets back to the flat and finds it empty. He knew Jenn would be working, but some reason he was still picturing her popping out from around a corner.

Dan locks his bedroom door for the first time since moving in and flops down on his bed. There's still no answer on his phone, so he decides to just give in and do what he wants while he waits for a reply.

The weight of the headset is a welcome familiarity as he's launched back into the streets of Half Moon Village. The city is alive and bustling. It doesn't take him long to find Fylgon, kneeling next to the little kid who usually gives out cookies. They’ve scraped their knee and Fylgon is putting an herb on it.

They both look up when Dan approaches, though in this form Dan is short enough and Fylgon is tall enough that even on his knees he barely has to tip his head back to look into Dan's face. Some of Dan's tension loosens when Fylgon passes him the cookie. He relaxes further when Fylgon stands and ruffles his hair.

"You missed our date," Fylgon says simply, waiting patiently for an explanation.

And then Dan is crying. "I'm sorry, sorry. My life has just turned into a shit show. I shouldn't even be here right now I have so much I have to do."

Fylgon wraps him up in a rib-crushing hug, the butt of his sword poking Dan in the hip. When was the last time he got two hugs in one day? Why are people only this loving, this kind when he is falling apart? He realizes Fylgon is unusually quiet when he set him down and asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Dan shakes his head. "I'm tired of thinking about it, if I'm being honest. I just want to slay some monsters."

Fylgon grabs his hand, wrapping it around Dan's much smaller one. Dan threads their fingers together, something in him thrilling at the easy contact, at the warmth of Fylgon's callused fingers on the back of his hand.

Dan lets Fylgon surprise him, following without questions, tipping his face back into the sun and watching the light bounce off of Fylgon's long dark hair. He's upgraded to leather armour, and it's a perfect fit, hugging his long, straight torso, metal buckles glinting in the light at his side. There are studs running down it, holding it together, and it all matches with the cuffs around Fylgon's wrists, which have the silhouette sof dragons pressed into them.

Dan is still in his basic clothes, though he has his medic staff hanging from his back from the fight with the bandits, and the bracelet dangling from his wrist. He wonders how much Fylgon has done while Dan's been dealing with his shit, if he got all of this done while waiting for Dan to show up, and he feels a pang of guilt.

He takes a breath. Today will be a good day, and Dan will make it up to Fylgon.

Instead of leading Dan out of the city to hunt monsters, Fylgon takes him to the marketplace and leads him into a tent. It's small, with three mannequins dressed in various outfits and a full length mirror beside the proprietor's booth. The woman sits in front of a low table, sewing a silver garment. She waves to them when they come in and simply says. "To try something on just double tap the mannequin."

"What is this?" Dan laughs, peering at the three outfits. Really, they're just basic pants and shirts, though a long coat catches his eye. It's sky blue with silver detailing and three large buttons down each side of the front panel, which is flanked on each side by a gleaming silver strip that also goes around the folded cuffs at the wrist and the soft collar points. It's almost a dress, it's so long, and it flares at the hips. There are clouds stitched onto the pockets in delicate silver thread.

"I thought it looked like a cloud!" Fylgon announces. "So I was hoping you would show up before it disappears!"

"Disappears?" Dan fingers the soft material before moving on to the armour beside it, which is really a leather crop top that's clearly just for the aesthetic.

"Have you played Animal Crossing?" Dan nods and Fylgon elaborates. "Basically, there are like, a hundred different outfits to start with, and they cycle through here. But that one's really rare."

Dan looks at the price. He has roughly 40 gold. He drops the sleeve he was holding. "Maybe by the time it comes back around I'll be able to afford it."

Figures that even in-game he can't afford anything nice.

"Just try it on!"

Dan sighs and double taps on the mannequin. His own clothes shift and change into an exact copy of the coat, and then Fylgon has him in front of a mirror, and his reflection is smiling at their image together, Fylgon's broad hand on Dan's slim shoulder, and he looks, well, his _character_ looks really good in this coat, even though it is definitely a dress now that it's on him.

He watches Fylgon lean down to whisper in his ear, his breath hot on Dan's skin and causing it to flush a shade of pink that somehow makes him look even softer. "I knew it would look good on you." He triple taps before Dan can break free, and then the shop keeper is thanking them for their business, and Fylgon has an arm swung around his shoulder and is guiding him back out into the marketplace, the coat still snug around his middle.

"Fylgon!" He hisses.

"You needed better armour ratings for where I want to take you, besides, I've got so much gold. I've been collecting loot like crazy the last couple of days."

"But-"

"Besides, now it's paid for and it wouldn't look as good on me as it does on you."

It's a lot, but Dan is secretly pleased, so he mutters a quiet 'thanks' and lets Fylgon lead him out of town and up to a quiet hill overlooking the village.

"So, where's this monster?"

"There's no monster."

"Bandits?"

"Nope."

"...Then what quest are we on?"

Fylgon points down to a shady stream, where a horse is having a drink. It's got a saddle on, and a set of reins dangle off its mottled grey face. Its mane and tail are grey that bleed into a soft orange, and its ears flick as it drinks. It looks vaguely familiar.

"Look, this is the only opening quest that I haven't been able to complete. You must have run into the stable hand too, when you first left your house on your way to deliver the herbs." Dan remembers the boy, out of breath in front of his house, asking for Dan to return his horse to him.

"I thought that would be an easy one."

"Oh, it is." After a moment of silence, Fylgon closes his eyes, his arms out straight out and down and he confesses violently. "I'm scared of horses!"

Dan laughs, but pats Fylgon on the back of the hand. "No worries. I can help with this one. But, why did I need better armour for this? It doesn't seem dangerous."

"Have you ever been kicked by a horse?"

"No."

"Neither have I but I hear it hurts."

Dan laughs and starts going down the hill towards the horse, but its eyes flick up to him and it bolts, taking his laughter with it.

"Yeah, it doesn't want to be returned to its proper home," Phil says from behind him.

"So then how the hell are we supposed to get it?"

Fylgon shrugs. "Approach slowly and quietly and snag it before it can run? Bribe it with food? I really don't know. But I don’t trust horses.”

By the end of the day, Dan has learned what it feels like to be kicked by a horse. He's also more than earned his new coat. The sun is setting by the time he rides the beast through town to the stables, Fylgon giving them a wide breadth and darting suspicious glances at the mount.

"You know, he's pretty tame now that I'm riding him," Dan says, just loud enough for Fylgon to hear. He's enjoying being tall again, taller even than Fylgon, and looking down on the masses who part for him on the horse. "I'm even tempted to keep him."

"He's demonic!"

Dan pats his head lovingly. "No, he just didn't want strange men trying to kidnap him. I can't blame him for that."

Fylgon keeps away. "You make him sound reasonable."

"You should give him an apple."

"You think?"

Fylgon approaches Dan and the horse slowly, pulling an apple they collected from the wood from his pocket and sticking it out to the horse. They've stopped in the middle of the street, but the traffic flows around them while Fylgon stands as far away as he can, his long arm outstretched towards the horse, his lips curled in a terrified grimace. From this angle, he's quite handsome. He pulled his hair back in a leather band while they were trying to catch the horse, and a few strands have come loose and hang in front of his vibrant blue eyes. His long dark lashes cast shadows over his pale cheekbones in the low light.

The horse dips down and steals the apple in one quick bite, and Fylgon shrieks and snatches his hand back, crying, "I felt his teeth. I hate him."

Dan chuckles and pats the horse between the ears. The horse whinnies, and it's like he's laughing too. Dan almost wants to keep him, almost. It reminds him of Phil, saying he'd gone to the pet store to kill time, and suddenly Dan wants to go there too. When was the last time he went out just to have a good time? And when is he going to get to see his new friend again, now that they don't have the store in common? His heart sinks, but Fylgon's excited "Oh my god, finally!" pulls him back out of his thoughts, and then they're handing the horse over to a very grateful stable boy, who gives them each a ring that, apparently, can help them get along with animals.

Fylgon is beaming and chatting to the NPC while Dan presses his face into the horse. He's resolved to visit the pet store. Maybe he'll even drop a resume off there.

When he turns around, Fylgon is leaning against the wall, arms crossed, grinning softly at Dan. His heart skips a beat in his chest, and he lets the horse go and picks his way across the hay-strewn floor to his party member, tucking a long strand of hair out of his face.

Dan has to clear his throat before he can speak. "I had fun today. Thanks."

Fylgon uncrosses his arms and ruffles Dan's hair again. The contact sends little tingles down Dan's scalp.

"I had fun too. I'm glad you came back."

"I'm sorry about standing you up."

"I know life can be tricky. But I'll be here whenever you need me."

Fylgon's admission has Dan choking up. "Thanks."

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

Dan is smiling, and blushing, though he doesn't know why. "I hope so."

"Excellent! Goodnight then. Have sweet dreams."

Dan takes the headset off, surprised to find that he's flushed in real life. He pokes his head out, and when he finds the apartment is quiet, he rushes to the bathroom to clean up for bed. The front door opens just as he closes his bedroom door for the night, the lock clicking into place, and he slides into bed, thinking about Fylgon's hands in his hair and the new outfit his character is rocking, and he’s _happy_.

He checks his phone when he sets his alarm for the morning. There's a single message flashing and he opens it to see an answer about the apartment.

_room is still available. you want to check it out tomorrow? i'm home all day._

Dan takes a deep breath through his nose. If he thinks of it like a quest, it isn't so bad. Part one of a new adventure. The reward: a new place.

_sure. _

He saves the address to Google Maps and then puts his phone to the side.

Maybe everything will be OK after all.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. <3


	5. Pleasant Coincidence

The next morning Dan forces himself to leave the apartment. It’s more difficult than it should be; he would much rather be in Half Moon Village with Fylgon. Just thinking about the other player makes his palms sweat and his stomach flip in a way that isn't entirely unpleasant.

He follows the map to a fairly nice building, way too nice for how the low cost of rent advertised on the poster.

Suspiciously, he rings the bell for apartment 7, ringing again when no one answers. He pulls out his phone to let the guy know that he's there when a voice comes over the intercom, tinny but oddly familiar.

"Come on up."

The door buzzes. It clicks as it unlocks and then Dan is moving through a sparsely decorated lobby, into a spacious elevator with floor to ceiling mirrors. Is it weird that he expects to see Cloud's reflection in the mirror? He's disappointed by his own gangly limbs and soft body. He gave up on straightening his hair around the time he moved in with Jen and started at the grocers, and now he kind of wishes he'd taken the time to straighten it. There's no way he's good enough to live in this building.

Apartment 7.2 is on the left-hand side. The numbers on the door are a shining gold. He takes a deep breath and knocks, and then the door swings open and he's met by a brilliant, familiar face.

"Phil!" He is immediately relieved. At least he won't have to go through any awkward introductions.

Phil lets him into the apartment, smiling brightly. "Would you like a spot of tea? I'm sorry, I was just in bed when you rang."

Now that he's said something, Dan can see that his quiff isn't as tidy as usual, and he's wearing a pair of emoji pajama bottoms. There's a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. Phil definitely catches Dan staring and leans back against the counter, grinning and crossing his arms in a stance that's strangely familiar. Butterflies tug at Dan's stomach.

"I'm sorry. I should've texted before I came."

"No, I said any time. I just had a late night. Sorry I'm not very presentable."

Dan's cheeks warm. "You look fine." Even better than fine, he thinks.

Phil motions him over to a cupboard as the kettle boils. He has every kind of tea the store sells, all jammed into one little cupboard. The boxes are piled on top of one another, most of them still in their plastic wrap.

"I haven't seen you at the shop in a while," Phil says as Dan picks a simple English Breakfast tea. They're standing shoulder to shoulder and Dan pretends to read the ingredients list.

"Uh, yeah, that's kind of why I'm apartment hunting."

"Oh?"

He puts the box of tea down and turns. He and Phil are almost nose to nose, and Dan is looking into his eyes and _wow_, he knew they were bright, but up close they're like three different colours and he was going to say something.

"I- um- I-"

The kettle pops, and Phil reluctantly breaks away from Dan to pour two cups, using the English Breakfast tea for both. He takes them to the couch and sets them directly on the table, bypassing the coasters laid out by a Nintendo Switch controller.

Dan follows him, perching on a lazy boy a safe distance from Phil.

"What were you playing?" he asks.

"Animal Crossing! It's so relaxing! Though to be honest I haven't played in a while. I'm usually in my office, and I've been playing this new game lately that I'm kind of obsessed with. You're a Pokemon fan, right?"

"Oh yeah. It's the stuff of my childhood. And my teenage years. And actually my adult life as well."

"So we already know we have stuff in common!" Phil exclaims. He leans forward in his seat. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm an introvert. I work from home so I really need a lot of quiet. But I'm used to living with other people so I'd really like a roommate." Phil outlines the cost, and it's more than reasonable, and the rules, which all suit Dan just fine, and he's not looking to lock either of them into a lease, so it'll just be a month-by-month basis. "So what do you think?"

"I think it's too good to be true." Dan admits.

Phil sighs and leans back. "Perfect! How soon can you move in?"

"Pretty much as soon as possible. My roommate is ready to get rid of me. Not that, you know, I'm an awful roommate or anything. It's just complicated. I used to work for her and nothing is working out well and, _please stop me I'm rambling_."

Phil lays a hand on Dan's arm. "Dan."

"Mhm."

"Stop rambling."

Dan lets out a shaky laugh. "Thanks."

"You want to see my Animal Crossing town?" Phil asks. There's a sparkle in his eye, and Dan is happy for any distraction, and it means he gets to sit on the couch next to Phil to look at the TV instead of across from him. He moves quickly and Phil boots everything up before collapsing directly beside Dan. He doesn't leave a lot of personal space, but Dan doesn't complain.

They spend the entire afternoon playing games, discussing TV shows they have in common - Dan is disgusted that Phil managed to fall behind on Game of Thrones, and Phil can't believe Dan is denying the part of himself that is apparently aching to be filled with anime, and by the time it's dark outside, Dan is reluctant to leave.

He gets up from the couch and stretches, pleased that he can't touch the ceiling in the apartment. "I should get going."

"Do you want to see your room first?" Phil teases. "I was so excited to talk about Buffy I completely forgot to give you the tour."

Dan worries about Fylgon thinking he'd stood him up again, but he bites his lip and nods. Time has a way of getting away from him with Phil, so he'll have to be careful. Phil gives him the tour. The combined living/dining room gives way to the kitchen they've already been through, and on the other side of that is a small hallway with two bedrooms and one four piece washroom.

"I haven't had a bath in forever," Dan admits, looking at the deep tub with jets.

"Do you wanna see my duck?" Phil rocks on his toes, laughing when Dan shoots him a confused look.

"Pardon?"

"I have a giant duck. Do you wanna see it?"

He waits, eager, expectant, and Dan finally, confused, says, "Sure?"

Too good to be true, he thinks to himself, even as his heart hammers in his chest while Phil reaches under the bathroom sink and pulls out... an actual fucking duck.

The yellow monstrosity is hideous, made of rubber, and not something Dan can fathom anyone buying.

"That is a giant duck," he says unhelpfully.

Phil laughs. "Isn't it?"

"Why?"

Phil shrugs. "I go to a lot of shops and I feel awkward when I don't buy anything."

"...Is the rest of the apartment filled with stuff like this?" Dan pictures all of the cupboards, closets, and drawers they've walked past since he got there.

"You'll have to wait and see."

The whole thing is ridiculous. Phil is ridiculous. It makes him feel light. Truthfully, he can't wait. Phil isn't even a little ashamed of his oddities, and he gestures for Dan to follow him down the hall. Phil points to three doors, one of which is painted a vibrant purple.

"That's my room, and my office. My only rule is to leave my office alone. I work for a company that's super paranoid about corporate espionage and stuff, and I signed a waver promising not to show anyone what I'm working on."

Dan nods. "Ok. And the third room?"

"That one's yours."

Phil lets him lead the way into it. It's a decent size, with a couch in the corner and an empty desk with a single plant on it. There's a closet with a couple of weird things in it, like a sequined jacket and a lion onesie.

"What the hell?"

"Oh yeah, I uh, forgot I put those in here. I used to do Youtube when I was younger," Phil explains. "I threw some old props in there. I'll get them out before you move in. The couch pulls out, but if you have a proper bed I can put it up on Kiji or move it into my office or something."

"No, the pullout couch is fine." Dan says. He actually doesn't own any of the furniture in his apartment except for his gaming chair. If nothing else, packing will be a cinch.

"I'll bring you first month's rent tomorrow if you want, and I'll drop off a couple of boxes. Unless you want me to wait until the first of September to make it an even month?"

"I actually have a meeting tomorrow. But we'll get you all moved in the day after, if you want!"

"Ok."

"Ok."

Dan doesn't know what to do, or say, They're just grinning at each other like a couple of goofballs, neither one making a move to leave the room.

Phil shakes his head and turns away first. "I'll let you get going. See you the morning after tomorrow?"

"It's a date," Dan says, then flushes when Phil shoots him a grin.

Phil leads him to the entrance. "Text me when you get home. There have been some muggings in the area lately."

Dan remembers the guy who followed him home last time he was hanging out with Phil, and agrees. Once Phil closes the door, he hurries home. Even though he's still unemployed, he's not going to be homeless, and he's going to get to live with Phil and see all of the weird impulse buys he's hidden around the flat. AND he's sure Fylgon is waiting for him in Half Moon Village.

Things are looking up.

*


	6. Endings and Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's been a while. I hope you're all doing well in these uncertain times. I'm still working full time, but I hope to level this story up in May! Also a warning that I'm easing some sexual content in starting in this chapter. Enjoy chapter six!

Dan spends the next day packing his belongings. He has a suitcase from when he used to holiday with his family and his entire wardrobe fits neatly inside of it. The boxes from his computer are still piled in the corner of the room. He has a couple of posters, which he pulls down and rolls up, and some knickknacks laying about that he shoves into a box. He swipes his books and DVDs from the lounge, and his toiletries from the bathroom, and he's good to go. His entire life fits between his suitcase and four boxes. Everything else in the apartment belongs to Jenn, or her family.

He wonders if Uber will help him move everything, if it's worth shelling out the money or if he should just walk it all over box by box. It doesn't feel right to ask Phil to help him carry his junk over when he's already being so nice about everything.

Dan is just doing a quick double check of the flat when the key rattles in the door. A normal person would just grit their teeth and greet their (almost) ex-room mate, and a normal socially awkward person might flee to their room and lock the door. Dan does neither.

It one clumsy motion he ducks and rolls into the space between the couch and the wall. The window is open above him and it lets the cool night air in. He finds an empty bag of chips and a couple of socks. When was the last time he cleaned behind the couch?

Just as he's cursing his own awkwardness he hears Jenn's voice. "Yeah, I don't think he's even here, Ash. I haven't seen him at all since I asked him to move out. Do you think it makes me a bitch, kicking him out?"

"What I think doesn't matter," Ashley evades. "You’re doing what you need to do for yourself. You don’t owe him anything."

"Back when Dan and I first met, he was really cool. He was obnoxious, yeah, but opinionated and funny. To be honest I kind of had a crush on him."

"Really?" Dan should be offended by how shocked Ash sounds.

"Yeah! He was always talking about what he was going to do once he went back to school, but then he just stopped talking about it, and he picked up more and more hours at the store, even though it made him miserable."

Dan hears them shuffle towards the lounge. If he gets up now, he'll definitely be spotted. They sit down on the couch and he swears internally. Maybe they'll get up, he hopes. Then there’s the soft, wet sound of someone kissing, and Ashley giggles. "You need to relax, babe. Things will work out for Dan. You know he's not really a bad guy."

Gears start turning in his head. He definitely isn't supposed to be overhearing this. He didn't even know that they were a thing, or that Jenn was interested in women! The couch creaks as the girls fall into each other and he decides to make a break for it. If he can just get out from under the couch and make it around the corner, he can pretend he was never here.

He army crawls out, and makes it to edge of the lounge rug when there's the sound of something ripping, followed by a bang and a shriek as the curtain falls on top of the girls, taking the rod with it.

"What the fuck!"

"Dan what the hell?"

Jenn spots him and he rolls, scrambling back as she pushes Ashley off of her and advances on him.

"Were you SPYING on me?" She yells. There's something in her eyes. Anger, yes, but also something Dan knows too well. Fear. He breaks eye contact with her.

"I was just cleaning up my stuff. I didn't hear anything. I don't know anything."

"It's not that bad," Ashley offers from the couch. "We've been friends with Dan for ages. It's not like he's going to tell your parents."

Dan swallows. Jenn should know that he wouldn’t out anyone, especially after last year, but she continues to glare at him.

"Like he has such good judgment," she hisses.

Whatever their friendship might have been, it's clearly over now.

He stands up so that he's looking down at her.

"I'll be out of here by tomorrow night."

"Good."

He goes back to his empty room. He still has to pack his computer, but first, he powers it on and loads Half Moon. He enjoys sitting on the edge of his digital bed for a few moments, listening to his NPC family walk around downstairs while soft rainbow lights swirl outside the window.

Finally, he tries to contact Fylgon. They exchanged user IDs so they can just message to meet up now. When he doesn't get a response he goes out for a walk.

He gets his cookie, and a little gold, but when he thinks about going out into the woods, he hesitates. The drawback to being a healer is that he's useless in a fight on his own.

He realizes that despite the beauty, despite the calmness of being here and the opportunity for adventure, it just isn't as much fun alone as it is with Fylgon.

He pulls off his helmet and packs his computer stuff up. He's done for tonight, and tomorrow can't come fast enough.

Finally, he drifts off to sleep.

*

The night drags on. Twice, he wakes up sure he can hear someone saying his name, only to realize that the flat is quiet. The rest of the night he has dreams of someone kissing him, large hands gripping his waist, skimming lower, touching him in ways he’s almost forgotten.

His phone says it's five am. He's barely slept a wink, it's bound to be a stressful day, and he has a goddamn erection from dreaming about strange men with blue eyes and easy smiles.

He gets out of bed anyway. Jenn and Ashley are still snoring when he goes into the bathroom, a bag for his toiletries in one hand, a towel shielding his problem with the other just in case.

He climbs into the shower and lets the heat wash over him. He doesn't waste any time, and goes straight for what he wants, gripping the shower wall tightly with one hand and his erect cock in the other, until he shudders, coming down this drain for the last time, and crying quietly to himself. In his dream he'd been perpetually stuck on the verge of satisfaction, but wrapped in strong arms, words of love and encouragement whispered in his ear. Sometimes there had even been a second set of hands on his back, in his hair. Now that he's awake he just feels desperate and lonely, and he wants to be gone, to wake up years ago in his college dorm and convince himself to just switch majors, or to push through, or something else that felt equally impossible at the time.

He brushes his teeth, throws his stuff into his bag and returns it to the pile of boxes. He takes his time getting ready and triple checks that he has everything, but it's still too early to go to Phil's. He doesn't want to look too desperate but honestly, he’s ready. He desperately wants out, so he shoots Phil a message.

_Hey! Hope your meeting went well yesterday. I was just wondering_

He erases the message.

_Hi. What time do you want me to start hauling my stuff over today? _

His phone beeps right away. Apparently 7am is the time to get hold of Phil Lester.

_hey! whenever you want. i'm up now. _

_I'll come right over then._

Dan ignores the little flips his belly is doing as he moves his boxes out to the front door of the lounge. He still isn't sure how he's going to get his stuff from point A to point B, but he thinks he'll just do the walk a couple of times with the smaller stuff. It's only about fifteen to twenty minutes away, and if he can do it in a couple of trips spread out through the day then it won't be so bad.

At least that's what he's telling himself.

He loads a small box on top of his chair and pushes it out into the hall, his backpack full on his back. Just as he's closing the door, he hears a soft "Wait" from inside the flat, and then Ashley has the door open and a box in her arms.

"I'll help you! I'm going to the gym, so I can use this as my warm up."

He doesn't want to look at Ashley after last night's debacle.

"You really don't have to do that."

"I insist."

The whole lift ride down she bounces on the balls of her feet. She hums when as they leave together and start walking to Phil’s flat

It's a surprisingly warm morning, and Dan's sweating by the time they reach the corner.

"Hey Dan," Ashley finally breaks the silence. "About last night-"

"I told you I didn't hear anything."

Ashley sighs. "You know I'm friends with Dustin, right?"

Actually he didn't know that, and he's suddenly uncomfortable realizing that she knows about him what he knows about her.

"I didn't know that."

She hums. "Jenn is really worried. Not about you telling anyone, just in general. Her family is getting ready to go on vacation and she's the only one not taking a significant other."

He can guess why. "I'm sorry."

"Me too. It's hard being with someone who isn't out, you know? I'm not complaining. We all do things in our own time. But, Jenn could use a friend other than me right now. Someone who gets it."

"I'm not that person." Jenn kicked him out, let her family fire him, and all but turned her back on him.

"I understand." She sighs.

They stop in front of the building. "This is it."

Ashley puts her box on top of Dan's chair pile. It’s a little wobbly, but it should make it into the lobby and up to the apartment.

"I'll see you around, Dan," she says.

"You too."

He watches her go, a little sad that he doesn’t know what else to say. He’s never been good a reassuring people, or finding the right words at the right time. Once she turns the corner he text Phil to buzz him in and lets himself up to the apartment. Phil is standing in the open doorway, and though he has circles under his eyes he’s practically vibrating with excitement when he sees Dan coming.

"Is that all you have?"

"I’ll make a few trips."

There's a half eaten bowl of cereal on the table next to a steaming pot of coffee. Phil notices the direction of Dan's attention and laughs.

"Want a cup?"

He doesn't wait for a response, immediately pouring the steaming liquid into a Hello Kitty mug and passing it to Dan. Dan moans as he drinks it. The whole place is nice, and the coffee is about as good as it gets. The thick brown liquid is smooth and hot. Phil passes him cream and sugar, and Dan sighs contentedly as he downs the entire cup before it even has a chance to cool.

He feels eyes on him and turns to look at Phil, who's just sat there watching him with a level expression, like he's enjoying Dan's pleasure. Those vibrant eyes are unblinking, and even a little unsettling.

"So, um, I'll get this stuff to my room and then run out for the second batch, I guess."

Phil nods and lets him go to the room alone, where he pushes the chair against the desk. On his way out, he finds Phil at the door, lacing up his shoes with his keys dangling from his long fingers.

"Er, sorry were you headed out?"

"I am going on a quest!"

That piques Dan's interest. Immediately, he thinks of the game, where even now Fylgon might be waiting for him.

"What kind of quest?"

"A quest to help my new roomie move in!"

Dan stops. "You're already doing so much for me, and you spent all day yesterday in a meeting.”

Phil just wraps an arm around his shoulders. The touch sends a little thrill through Dan.

"Nonsense. I want to!"

"Phil-"

"Just think of it this way. If real life were a game, this would be the perfect opportunity for a quest. Helping you move things would boost our friendship points, maybe give me some XP."

"Yeah, but in a game you would get something tangible, or quantifiable out of it. What are you hoping to gain from helping me, other than my friendship?"

Phil opens and closes his mouth and looks ahead, squeezing Dan's shoulders once before letting go. Immediately, Dan misses the warmth.

"Isn't your friendship enough?" Phil asks slowly.

Dan swallows. "Probably best if you ask for something else, mate."

Phil clams up but nods, crossing his arms and looking off into the distance. Dan can practically see the gears turning in his head.

"Then I guess you'll just owe me a favour."

The words are so soft that Dan isn't even sure if he heard them right, but then the elevator doors open and Phil is bounding on ahead of him and leading him back to his old apartment to gather his things.

It takes them two more trips, during which time Jenn slips out without saying a word. She does pause when she sees Phil, a confused expression on her face, and then she's gone and they're alone in the old house.

"It isn't much," Dan says, embarrassed. He's suddenly worried that Phil will realize Dan isn't good enough to be in some swanky flat with him, which is stupid; he was the one who put an affordable price on the room.

Phil follows him into the empty bedroom, while Dan does one final sweep. It feels weird, knowing he'll never be back here again, and for all that he wanted out he has the distinct impression that he's going to miss it. A strange sort of homesickness overtakes him. As if sensing his thoughts, Phil snatches his hand and squeezes once before letting go.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

He follows Phil out, turning off the light and closing the door behind him.

Another chapter of his life is over.

  
  



End file.
